Swinney, No. 3 Clemson will enjoy a short break

Sunday

Sep 8, 2013 at 12:01 AMSep 9, 2013 at 12:51 AM

Clemson's Dabo Swinney is readying himself like a normal fan for the upcoming weekend.

By ERIC BOYNTONeric.boynton@shj.com

It's a rare autumn Saturday that a college football coach isn't fretting over an impending game, especially this early in a season, but Clemson's Dabo Swinney is readying himself like a normal fan for the upcoming weekend.“I'm stocking up on my chips and dip,” Swinney said during Saturday's postgame press conference after a 52-13 win over South Carolina State. “I've never had a schedule like this. It's very different with four Saturdays where we don't play.”After winning on consecutive Saturdays to open the season in vaulting to No. 3 in the Associated Press Poll behind No. 1 Alabama and Oregon, the Tigers begin their unusual slate of games with this week's bye. Next up is a Sept. 19 ESPN Thursday primetime outing at North Carolina State.The Tigers also have Saturday, Nov. 9, off prior to their second and final Thursday evening game of the regular season when they host Georgia Tech on Nov. 14.Players will get this Monday and Friday off from practice with Saturday serving as the start of their normal game week preparation.“Saturday will be like a (normal) Monday (and so forth),” Swinney said. “Just normal game preparation. Practices won't be quite as long because obviously we'll have some more time to get ready.”The Tigers figure to be heavy favorites, even twice as the visiting team, over their next four with home games against Wake Forest and Boston College sandwiched between an Oct. 5 visit to Syracuse. Swinney said he was happy to have additional time to prepare for North Carolina State, no matter that the Wolfpack squeaked by FCS foe Richmond, 23-21, Saturday on a 48-yard field goal with 33 seconds left.“I'm glad we've got some extra time to get ready for N.C. State because they're going to be a tough team and they're going to present some challenges for us and we've got to play well. It's conference, it's division, and it's on the road, check, check, check. It's a huge test for our team.”It's easy to chalk that up as coach-speak before considering the Wolfpack had one of the leading roles in helping squash what had been shaping up to be a very special season for the Tigers two years ago. Clemson arrived in Raleigh 9-1 and ranked seventh before an embarrassing 34-13 defeat was the first in losing three of its last four games.“I can still see it like yesterday how bad we played up there a few years ago and I'm anxious to get back up there and play better. We need to play well,” Swinney said.

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